Ruth Perry
12 Dec 2023 · Coroner Heidi Connor · Berkshire
The coroner's concerns
1. school leader welfare impact
“The first of these relates to my hypothetical schools A and B point, referred to above. I am concerned about the impact on school leader welfare that this system may continue to have. Transparency and ease of message to parents is not currently weighed against teacher welfare. The current system allows a school which is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school which is good in all areas, but with some safeguarding issues which can be repaired by the time the report”
2. lack of Ofsted training or published policy
“In relation to Ofsted and/or the Department for Education 1.The first of these relates to my hypothetical schools A and B point, referred to above. I am concerned about the impact on school leader welfare that this system may continue to have. Transparency and ease of message to parents is not currently weighed against teacher welfare. The current system allows a school which is inadequate in all areas to receive the same overall label as a school which is good in all areas, but with some safegu”
3. no clear path to raise concerns
“Absence of a clear path to raise concerns during an inspection if these cannot be resolved directly with the lead inspector”
4. confidentiality requirement not in policy
“The confidentiality requirement after an inspection. Some changes have been made already, but this is not yet written into policy. Given how long this policy has been in place, school leaders may fear discussing outcomes with colleagues outside of the school, and mental health professionals, unless this is expressly dealt with in written policy”
5. report publication timescales
“Timescales for report publication”
6. absence of learning review
“No learning review of these matters was conducted by Ofsted. There is no policy requiring this to be done”